In a break with the status
quo, a number of American journalists have begun to speak about Afghanistan
in an open and unbiased manner. The journalists, most of whom have made
extended visits to the country, are refuting the misinformation that is
regularly spread by the international media. They include Mike Hoover,
a producer for the CBS television network, and Cindy Law, a freelance
female reporter who recently took a month-long trip to Afghanistan. Both
are working on documentary films and gave interviews to the Voice of America's
Pashto language service.

Hoover has been fascinated with Afghanistan
for years and made frequent visits there during the Jihad against the Soviets,
described his dismay when the factional fighting began in Kabul after the
collapse of the Communist regime. Then, when the Taliban took power and
peace was restored, the Western press quickly turned against Afghanistan
and the smear campaign against the Taliban started. Hoover started to find
out more, but, as he said:

"I could never find anything where
the Taliban tell us what their thoughts are and what they are really doing.
It was just other people talking about them without them ever speaking
out. After talking to a couple of people who were over there and had exactly
the opposite opinion of the Taliban, it seemed to me that it might be good
for CBS to go over there to see for itself, to hear from Taliban about
who they are and what they are trying to do, and to observe whether their
goals are implemented or are just political talk."

The journalists says that before
going to Afghanistan, he half-suspected that the reports that permeate
the Western media might be true. But those suspicions were forgotten upon
his arrival on Afghan soil. The first thing that he noticed and was surprised
by was that there were no weapons and no armed men.

Hoover spent a month in the country,
traveling from Kandahar to Kabul. He refuted the Western image of the Taliban
as being ignorant. He saw them as being fully aware of both Afghan and
world politics.

"When you speak to them on any
subject, you realize how bright these guys are. It was surprising….you
would learn that the guy you were talking to was only 26 years old when
you thought you were talking to someone with the wisdom of a fifty year-old.
I was very impressed." Hoover added.

He said that all those that he met
there during his trip, whether young or old, were extremely happy about
the security situation.

"People were happy that there
was security, that there was no rocketing, that there was safety, that
you didn't have any worries about crime as you did before."

When asked about the Taliban's harshness,
he said, "On certain things, the Taliban are very strict…..I think it
is fair. If you commit a crime, you will be punished for it. The punishment
is, in my view, fair and swift."

Hoover was surprised by the fact
that there is no formality, no red tape in Afghanistan-any one can see
the ministers to hand in his petition or idea, and it will be acted upon
swiftly. He said that the ministers that he saw didn't even look like ministers.
They were dressed in the same way as the average person, and some even
wore old clothes and well-worn shoes.

One thing that Hoover saw everywhere
and was bothered by was the poverty and hardship, which has been compounded
by UN sanctions. He deplored the twisted logic of the sanctions, saying:

"They destroyed their own country
fighting the Soviets. They fought bravely. And now, instead of helping
them or at least leaving them alone to rebuild, the world is imposing sanctions
on them."

Hoover said that he hopes that other
journalists and officials travel to Afghanistan with open minds to see
the reality and analyze the situation themselves. People must not let themselves
be deceived by biased second-hand information, he stated. If the truth
was revealed, he said, then he is certain that the sanctions will be dropped
and that, instead of confrontation with the Taliban, the world would help
them. Hoover's comments are echoed by Law, who said that she had heard
all sorts of things about Afghanistan, especially about the Taliban's treatment
of women, so she decided go to the country to see for herself. Law spent
more than a week in Kandahar and three weeks in Kabul, speaking to women
from all walks of life, including female doctors and nurses. She said that
while they had many concerns, the burqa (veil) was not one of them.

"Their major concerns, I would
have to say, were the sanctions and war. All Afghans pleaded for the United
States and the United Nations to end the sanctions and help rebuild their
country. They also asked for medical, food, and financial aid."

Afghan women told Law that their
first need, after economic assistance, is education for their children.
In regards to female education, Law said that she saw some school for girls
in homes, especially in Kandahar, and girls studying in mosques. "Taliban
officials assured Law that once the war is over, they would turn their
attention to the many issues facing the nation, including women's education
and employment. She said that she saw work already beginning on some girl's
schools in Kandahar."

Scoffing at the misconception held
by many that Afghan women are prisoners in their homes, Law stated, "There
are many women working in the hospitals and health care, and they comprise
most of the women that I talked to. And I saw women walking around in the
markets."

Law said that the world must realize
that Afghanistan has been devastated by two decades of war, and that its
infrastructure has been destroyed. She added that the international concern
about the plight of Afghan women is to be appreciated, but "I think
the best way to help the women of Afghanistan is to encourage the removal
of sanctions. They are hurting the Afghan people, especially the women.
And more humanitarian aid should be provided- medical, economic, etc."

Other American media outlets are
also challenging the propaganda campaign that is being waged against the
Islamic Emirate. The San Jose (California) Mercury, a daily newspaper,
published comments made by a female Muslim student leader, Sara Azad, who
said:

"The fact is, women in Afghanistan
are now protected and their rights are guaranteed. Because no right comes
before the right to life, and today they have that right."

Azad added that she receives letters
from her grandmother in Afghanistan, who writes that Afghan women have
never felt safer than they do now.